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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Kansas's value. 4 out of 4 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Wichita at index 66, where median rent of $1,125/month saves renters $9,240/year versus the national median.
#1 Ranked: Wichita — cost index 66, rent $1,125/mo, income $63,072
Wichita rent up 4% over the past year
4 of 4 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Dollar for dollar, few states match Kansas's value. 4 out of 4 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Wichita at index 66, where median rent of $1,125/month saves renters $9,240/year versus the national median.
Read this before you sign a lease anywhere: Wichita rent up 4% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Wichita has increased from $1,085 to $1,125/mo over the past 12 months — a 4% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Why Wichita ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. And more often than not, at 66 on the cost index, residents save roughly 45% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,125/month — for better or worse — while the median household pulls in $63,072/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 66, though Healthcare (93) lags behind. Home prices average $198,074 — $269,296 below the national median.
Rent data is sourced from Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI), which tracks the median rent across all active listings — not just new leases. This gives a more representative and stable signal than asking prices alone. Wichita: $1,125/mo, Topeka: $1,169/mo, Overland Park: $1,666/mo. The cheapest city here is $770 under the national median — that's $9,240/year in savings on rent alone.
The same data, viewed through a different lens: Kansas — plains affordability with steady incomes. The 4 cities we track here average a cost index of 84 and median income of $83,761. It's a clear buyer's market compared to national norms. The typical rent runs $1,438/month, which is $457 less than the national median (that's pre-tax, of course).
The short version: Wichita stands out — but so do several runners-up that might fit your lifestyle better. Treat this ranking as the starting line, not the finish. Every city links to a full profile. Every profile has salary data by profession. And the calculator lets you model your own numbers. That's how rankings become decisions.
396,119 residents · Kansas
Look, Why Wichita ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 66 on the cost index, residents save roughly 45% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,125/month while the median household pulls in $63,072/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 66, though Healthcare (93) lags behind. Home prices average $198,074 — $269,296 below the national median.
125,475 residents · Kansas
Why Topeka ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 68 on the cost index, residents save roughly 43% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,169/month — not a number you see very often, by the way — while the median household pulls in $55,902/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 68, though Healthcare (94) lags behind. Home prices average $186,856 — $280,514 below the national median.
197,089 residents · Kansas
Here's Overland Park by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 97. Rent: $1,666/month. Income: $103,838/year. Home price: $470,417. Population: 197,089. The strongest category is Housing at 97; the most expensive is Healthcare at 99. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $2,748 per year vs. the national median. Financially, that's significant.
147,461 residents · Kansas
Why Olathe ranks #4: the numbers tell a clear story. And as far as the data shows, at 105 on the cost index, residents save roughly 6% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,792/month while the median household pulls in $112,232/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 101, though Housing (105) lags behind. Home prices average $425,657 — $41,713 below the national median.
Cities are ranked by median 1-bedroom rent in ascending order using Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI). We include all tracked cities in Kansas with verified rent data, giving you a complete picture of the rental landscape from cheapest to most expensive. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Wichita ranks #1 in Kansas for this analysis with a cost index of 66 and median income of $63,072.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Wichita (ranked #1) has a cost index of 66 and rent of $1,125/mo, while Olathe (ranked #4) has a cost index of 105 and rent of $1,792/mo — a 39-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Wichita is $1,125/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $770 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Wichita is $198,074, which is 3.1× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Kansas has a 5.7% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.7%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.28%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.